An Overview of Anorexia Nervosa Essay

An Overview of Anorexia Nervosa Essay

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Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
When considering the relationship between gender and eating disorders, more than 90 percent of t...

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- Body dissatisfaction has become normative in today’s society, and we are seeing it emerge at younger and younger ages. Women and men alike surrounded by social influences that mandate thinness at every turn is becoming all too common. With distorted body perceptions being portrayed in such ways, it is no wonder that so many have fallen victim to the pressures of wanting to be thin. Portia de Rossi describes a moment in her book talking about the struggle she faced with her eating disorder. Even at a young age she knew there was some sort of internal draw for her need to keep pushing herself to lose weight.... [tags: Body Dissatisfaction]

- Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person loses more weight than what is considered healthy for their weight and age. Individuals with anorexia may have an intense fear of gaining weight even if they are underweight. They may exercise or diet too much or use another way to lose weight. Often the individuals obsess over their weight and the food they consume. It is construed by the inability to keeps one’s body weight within 15 percent of their ideal body weight. There are two types of anorexia nervosa: restricting type and binge-eating and purging type.... [tags: exercise, diet, weight]

- A. Overview of Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized as a progressively increasing health issue that plagues a vast amount of the female population worldwide. According to The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders [RCF], (2003), up to 24 million people in the nation and 70 million persons around the world are disturbed by all the categories of eating disorders (RCF, 2003). More specifically, anorexia is placed third on the list of most prevalent prolonged diseases among the pubescent female population (RCF, 2003).... [tags: eating disorder, mental illness, psychology]

- Overview Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a type of eating disorder characterized by intense fear of gaining weight (1). People with anorexia have a distorted body image, persistent preoccupation with thinness, excessive exercising, unwillingness to maintain minimal weight, and disturbed eating behaviours (1-2). The lifetime prevalence of AN is about 0.3 - 1.0% in women and 0.3% in men (3), with a peak age of onset at 13 to 18 years (4). The mortality rate of AN is reported to be higher than of any other psychiatric illness.... [tags: Obesity, Body shape, Body mass index, Body weight]

- According to a new study from the Pew Research Center over 92% of teens report going online daily, including 24% who say they go online almost constantly. ("Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015."). The use of social media is playing a big role in today’s society. Social media in some cases affects the children and adolescents psychologically, physically and socially. Social Media has always been a great tool for advertising, entertainment, education and communication between family and friends, but although social media has these benefits, for the past years its negative role has been affecting children and adolescents.... [tags: Anorexia nervosa, Eating disorders]

- A great range of people have keen interest in their body shape. However, it becomes a problem when your effort to have an envious physical appearance becomes an obsession. When this obsession falters, you began to lose control of your life and the people affected turn to one of two paths: excessive eating, or self-starvation. This compulsion of food and a physical appearance is also known as an eating disorder. Eating disorders slowly deteriorate your body, beginning with your brain, leading to the start of mental illnesses.... [tags: mental illnesses, anorexia, bullimia, ]

- Introduction According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, 2013), four out of five college students drink alcohol. Alcohol consumption is not only the cause of 1,800 deaths, 599,000 injuries, 696,000 physical assaults, and 97,000 sexual assaults of 18-24 year olds but it can also be the link to disordered eating habits such as overeating, purging, or not eating at all (Giles, Champion, Sutfin, McCoy & Wagoner, 2009; NIAAA, 2013). Nearly 80% of college students report drinking alcohol and half have claimed binge drinking in the past two weeks (NIAAA, 2013).... [tags: College Students, Weight Conscious, Anorexia]

- Anorexia and Bulimia: A Concise Overview As many as 20% of females in their teenage and young adult years suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Alexander-Mott, 4). Males are also afflicted by these eating disorders, but at a much lower rate, with a female to male ratio of six to one. Those with anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain a normal body weight by not eating and have an intense fear of gaining weight. People with bulimia nervosa go through periods of binge eating and then purging (vomiting), or sometimes not purging but instead refraining from eating at all for days.... [tags: Causes of Bulimia, Eating Disorders]

- Today’s society uses people’s physical characteristics to measure beauty and accomplishment. This causes people to drive their bodies to an extreme to try and attain physical perfection. There are people who want to be accepted by society and will do whatever it takes. Some take the way that causes them to develop eating disorders. The two most common eating disorders are known as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. They are often mixed up with one another because they share many of the same qualities.... [tags: Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa]

- Pro-Anorexia Websites Cyberspace, something that was once considered a fad, has developed into a tool that allows people struggling with anorexia to potentially find a sanctuary from the regulatory systems in popular culture that are applied to women’s bodies. Cyberspace provides an alternative space for women with eating disorders or body issues. The space created by cyberspace is potentially safer for women to meet because it allows anonymity while simultaneously being part of a community that the built environment is unable to provide.... [tags: Eating Disorders Pro-ana Internet]